Pollution in the capital of BiH, and other cities has been hazardous for days now, and BiH cities are among the most polluted in the world. For 6 ut of the last 7 days the air in Sarajevo was hazardous, and for the 1 remaining day it was rated as very unhealthy. This is the data from air pollution monitors available on the online platform of EkoAkcija.
Air quality index has to be between 0 and 50 to not be harmful for the health of the population. On January 11, the air quality index was 486 and in the last month the index was rated good only once.
This disconcerting data and the obvious pollution led youth to take action and speak up about pollution in Sarajevo. During the module Civil activism and volunteering within the training for youth leaders “Learn, Think and Act!” conducted by the Institute for Youth Development KULT with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Sweden in BiH, youth from various parts of BiH took to the streets to hand out masks to passers-by. It’s interesting to note that pharmacies did not have enough masks in stock.
“As soon as I arrived in Sarajevo, I immediately saw for myself what the entire country has been talking about. I encourage the government in Sarajevo to do their utmost to solve this problem, both for the sake of their citizens’ health, and the city’s reputation. Some of the solutions I’d suggest would be promoting the use of electric cars, creating more green spaces, planting trees and having more stringent rules when it comes to technical inspections of vehicles”, said Nermin Topovičić from Banja Luka. Robert Ružnić from Bihać added that it only took a short walk for him to notice how polluted Sarajevo air was compared to Bihać, and that it made it hard to breathe.
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